Monday, August 27, 2012

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 3 years and 34 weeks old!!! At 1:04 pm, Jane Claire turned 21 weeks old!!! What a whirlwind of a week it has been. I am ashamed to say it was all for the sake of gently used children's clothing. It was consignment week in Middle Tennessee. Other than Thanksgiving and Christmas, it is one of my favorite times of the year. Ridiculous, I know. I have so much more fun finding clothes for my babes than I do myself. If that isn't a reason to have Stacy and Clinton come to my front door I don't know what is. Not to mention the current state of my closet. Where was I?!? Consignment sales... Way back when I signed up to volunteer for my 2 favorite sales, I wasn't exactly using a calendar. So, silly old me signed up to work one sale when I was supposed to be shopping at the other! Way to go genius! In all actuality, it was probably for the best that it worked out that way. I spent as much money on 2 kids as I normally do on 1! The bank account appreciates my lack of organization. And in this situation, so does Blake! ;-)

But I am getting a little ahead of myself. Let me back up to Tuesday night. We joined the Autrys at the Cyr's house for dinner. It is one of Crosby's favorite places to hang out. Why??? Once guess...

He LOVES hearing Jeremy play the guitar. Although he really, really, really wants to play it all by himself! He is convinced an electric guitar is just as easy to play as the air version. I am thinking we need to tell Santa to invest in a much cheaper version for Christmas! ;-) Jane Claire was in such a cuddly mood. She looked so adorable all snug as a bug with LeAnne. Sweet baby girl..

I feel off the face of the earth on Wednesday and Thursday trying to get clothes hung and tagged and delivered. I left the house on Thursday at 8:30 to take Crosby to school and did not return home again until 8:30 that night! What a long day. And Miss Priss went right along with me. She worked the consignment sale with me for a few hours. Headed home with Lulu for a few hours. Then came back to the sale and off to a Matilda Jane sale before we headed home! CRAZY day I tell you. CRAZY!!! Fun times regardless. It is a good thing this only happens 2 times a year! I will be sure to pull out my calendar in the Spring. Although the little girl needs NOTHING for next Spring/Summer! Remind me of that come February/March please!

On Friday night AND Saturday night, dear little Jane Claire slept from 9:00-5:30 and 9:00-6:30. It was lovely! To top that off, she woke up talking so sweetly. Seriously melts my heart to hear that voice of hers. And we are hearing more and more of it. Love, love.

On Sunday afternoon, we headed to Baptist for the annual NICU Birthday party. This year was a super special year because we helped celebrate the retirement of Dr. Jorge Rojas. He is a special man to our family. He was the gentle doctor that tried so hard to stabilize sweet Caroline so we could enjoy her presence here on this earth. I can still see his face as he told us we would not get the ending we had longed for. He, along with our special friend, Danielle, took care of our sweet baby in last moments of her life. We got to know Dr. Rojas even more as we watched him care for out precious Crosby. As much as he wanted to send Crosby home with us when we left the hospital, Dr. Rojas wanted to make sure he did NOT come back. He kept him a few days longer just to be sure! We were fully prepared to go another round with him earlier this Spring but were pleasantly surprised with the gift of a NICU-less pregnancy/delivery! Jane Claire met him for the first time at the party! Needless to say, it was such an honor to be at the celebration to personally thank Dr. Rojas for the role he played in our lives. What an amazing man...

Crosby was ALLLL about playing the games this year. The first "attraction" was the tattoo line. He went with a purple monkey on the forearm. You'll see it... Then he got in line for Go Fish. I managed to snap a picture right as Jane Claire was giving her daddy a big ole grin so I had to share it! Too sweet...

Fishing...

So serious! I think he caught a Kit Kat bar... ;-)

Then he moved on to the ring toss. He might have been a little close...

Going in for a prize...

I am thinking the sign says this was the Mexican Jumping Bean Bag Toss maybe?!? He scored!

Meanwhile, Jane Claire was being entertained by Mr. Jason. It was going well at first...

Then she got all serious...

And bust out in tears!! So pitiful. It is so hard to be a baby...

The big kids had a grand ole time. It took a lot of effort to get one, decent (if you call this decent) picture of them. Margaret, Crosby and Jack...

We stood in line and finally made it to the man of the hour! We actually got a family picture with Dr. Rojas and everyone was looking AT the camera! Very impressed...

These little frogs were a HUGE hit with our bunch...

They threw them on the wall and watched them slowly work their way back down. Could have entertained them for hours! Good to know...

My name tag with Crosby's info...

The sweet NICU babies that brought the Malone and Rick families together. We are so very blessed to have these precious children in our lives...

Even when they are super silly!!

After the party, we headed to the park for a picnic dinner. Sweet Wells, another NICU babe, was strapped in for meal time. He was ready to PLAY with with the big kids at this point!!!

Little Bit and I just hung out on the blanket...

She was fine to chew on her hands while they played...

We finally loaded up the whole gang and headed toward the cars. They thought this was pretty awesome...

Of course we couldn't get them to all look at once!

Would you look at that Margaret with her arms so tight around Crosby's waist! She loves her Crosby and he loves her back!

Going for a ride!

"Heeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!"

What a fun day with great friends! We love Baptist and all of the doctors and nurses that took care of us while we were there.

We pulled out the exersaucer this week and let Jane Claire have a try at it...

She has a big brother that was more than happy to show her the ropes...

Monday, August 20, 2012

At 11:24 am, Crosby Fox turned 3 years and 33 weeks old!!! At 1:03 pm, Jane Claire turned 20 weeks old!!! Baby Girl is now in the 20's and I can barely stand it. And my boy. Holy moly. He is getting closer and closer to FOUR! I cannot have a 4 year old. There is nothing remotely baby or even toddler about a 4 year old. That is nothing but a little boy. He is a LITTLE BOY!?!? He proves it every day with all of the sweet, smart, silly, witty things he says. I tell him all the time, "You will always be my baby!!!" I don't know who I am trying to convince! He has even used it back on me when I try and convince him to stop growing. He tells me he has to keep growing but he will always be my baby. Too precious. He is just about the sweetest child know. Seriously. Okay Enough...

Why am I so emotional about my boy? He had his first official day of school on Tuesday! I hesitated to put him in school on Tuesday and Thursday because Blake is off on Tuesdays. But this picture alone was worth it...

Oh how he loved having his Daddy take him to school!! He agreed to a picture with me as well...

I am pretty sure that is because we let him stand in the seat and hang out of the sunroof! I know that probably sounds crazy when kids are required to be in car seats until they are 14 years old or something! But, that is how the Otter Creek Drop off line rolls. All the kiddos hang their heads out windows and sunroofs yelling at everyone they see, waving their arms. Too cute! Of course, we were newbies and we got in the wrong line! Oops! At least we got it straight for pick up. Here is the little man getting ready to get in our car...

And he sees us!!

Crosby had a GREAT first day of school! He loves his new teacher and LOVES being at Otter Creek!! I am thinking we are going to have a GREAT year! It helps that some of his best buddies are there with him. Crosby and Lucas aren't in the same class but they see each other in passing and when they do extended days. Kara and I had to order matching outfits for them this year! (They had matching shirts last year even though they were at different schools...)

Would you look at Lucas' posing positions...

These two boys are too much...

Then we added Charlotte and Leighton to the mix! Charlotte and Leighton crack me up. And I must throw in the disclaimer that poor Jeremy was in charge of Charlotte's hair that day... ;-)

We got one of ALL 8 eyes looking in the right direction!

We had to go back later on that even for the "Red Door" picture. Apparently it is a must! ;-)

So much fun to be had behind those red doors!

And just so I can cry about it a little more, I made a collage of my little fella on the first day of school from the past 3 years. Look how much he has grown...

Sigh.

That night we headed to Chuy's to celebrate Anne Claire's birthday. Lulu and GranBuddy had their picture with the tiny babes. They were a handful during dinner so this is the only one I got!

We headed to an pavilion for cake and presents. Of course Crosby and Charlotte had to help her blow out the candles...

And here is the birthday girl showing off the cupcake holder LeAnne and I made for her!

Happy Birthday, Anne Claire!!

Believe it or not, I didn't pick up the actual camera for a whole week! I have GOT to do better. It doesn't help that my camera is acting up... Anyway, I did take pictures of Jane Claire! She is looking like such a big girl!

Jane Claire at 20 weeks...

Always trying to get those hands in that mouth!

Got a smile!!

Then I flipped her on her belly and she starting talking away...

I am sure she was trying to figure out why in the world I was laying on the floor while she was practically hanging off the chair...

About Me

I was the lucky gal to snatch up Blake waaaaaaaaaay back in 1996...9th grade!!! After 4 years of high school and 4 years of college, we finally tied the knot. Hopping from Tennessee to Kentucky to Alabama over the course of 6 years, we are proud to call Nashville our home, sweet home.
We are a family of five, although you only see three. Finley and Caroline
graced us with their presence for a brief moment on this earth before receiving their angel wings. Crobsy, their little brother, has stolen our hearts and has filled our lives with joy.
Through the ups and the downs on this journey of life, we know we have truly been blessed...